Election of House Speaker

As anticipated, John Boehner (OH-8) was elected Speaker of the House. The vote tally was strictly on party lines, though 18 Representatives declined to vote for Pelosi (CA-8), and instead voted for a number of other Democrats, along with one who voted present (Sanford Bishop (GA-2)). It is interesting to note that Boehner declined to vote, but Pelosi voted for herself.

The speculation is that the 19 Democrats who did not vote for Pelosi come from conservative districts and did so as not to alienate their voters, recognizing that an association with Pelosi and other hard-line Progressives would fare poorly in the 2012 election. It may behoove the Republican leadership and conservative voters as well to keep an eye on these 19 Democrats and perhaps use them as possible allies.
The 19 Democrats are as follows:
Altmire (PA-12), Barrow (GA-4), Bishop (NY-1), Boren (OK-2), Cardoza (CA-18), Cooper (TN-5), Costa (CA-20), Donnelly (IN-2), Giffords (AZ-8), Holden (PA-17), Kind (WI-3), Kissell (NC-8), Lipinski (IL-3), Matheson (UT-2), McIntyre (NC-7), Michaud (ME-2), Ross (AR-4), Schrader (OR-5), and Schuler (NC-11).